“Sitting at the Table” at SendGrid

As part of our SendGrid Spotlight series and in celebration of Women’s History Month, we’re happy to hear from SendGrid’s Director of Revenue Marketing, Carly Brantz.

I live in an affluent community where many of the women I know, and am friends with, stay at home rather than work. I can remember when I was pregnant with my second daughter, I racked my brain and could come up with only one woman who had more than one child and focused on her career. That woman advised me that to help her advance in her career, she simply didn’t talk with others at work about her children.

Competent and Happy

Throughout my career, there have been women in executive roles at the companies I worked, but none of them had children. As Sheryl Sandberg so eloquently says in her book Lean In,

“We need more portrayals of women as competent professionals and happy mothers – or even happy professionals and competent mothers.”

It is not always easy being a woman working in the technology industry, a working mom at that, but it gives me purpose outside of the home and a sense of accomplishment. I truly am an example of that happy and competent mother and professional.

A week before my maternity leave ended with my second daughter, I was laid off from the job I had for nearly seven years. Unemployment rates were extremely high and I hadn’t thought about work in months, much less my resume or the job market. Within a week, I had interviewed and been hired by SendGrid. They didn’t question or delay in hiring a newly unemployed mom to the team.

SendGrid Support

I’m proud to work at SendGrid where the company values center around the 4Hs. Hungry, Happy, Honest, and Humble. Not only have I been given opportunities to grow and learn, but I’ve been given a team to manage and lead. I’m certainly not silenced or discouraged from sharing my opinions—the opposite is true. More than anyone, our CEO, Jim Franklin has continuously encouraged me and pushed me to speak up, say what I think, and give my feedback on his senior leadership team.

My opinion is solicited and respected, my work is acknowledged, and I have been promoted as a result of my success. In my first year working at SendGrid, my work was recognized and I quickly earned a seat at the leadership table. I’m not alone. I’ve seen other women—mothers at that—do the same during my two years at SendGrid. Another quote from Sheryl Sandberg’s book is,

“It’s time to cheer on girls and women who want to sit at the table.”

SendGrid has cheered me on all along the way. As a result, my two daughters see that their mom is making a difference at work and in their lives as a mother—that success is something we can all be proud of.

We’re also an active ambassador for changing the ratio of women in tech as a proud partner of NCWIT. Learn more about NCWIT’s initiatives here. And if you’re interested in opportunities at SendGrid, we’re always looking for energetic and driven team players to join us. Please visit our Careers page for our current openings.

As SendGrid's Director of Content, Jillian is responsible for ensuring that SendGrid provides valuable thought leadership content through the blog, whitepapers, webcasts, and more. When not writing and editing, you can find Jillian frequenting Denver restaurants in search of the best queso.